there's this one professor of ours. an incredibly smart woman. sure, most professors are smart, but what makes her different isn't just her intelligence. she's very polite, very kind, very knowledgeable, and just as humble. every time we talk, i always learn something new. she gauges the distance between herself and people really well. neither too formal nor more familiar than necessary. she always speaks plainly, clearly, and understandably. and when there's a problem, she tries to solve it calmly, without raising her voice.
i've never once seen her make idle chitchat. she's always someone who's producing, reading, thinking. but my favorite thing about her is this; even though she's normall…